Steam traps



Oci. 11, 1960 JINICHI SHIMIZU STEAM TRAPS Filed May 5, 1958 FIG.I 583 any;

mm SHHYHZU ,M XL

2,955,611 STEAM TRAPS Jinichi Shimizu, 47 Kishirnachi-6-chome, Urav'va-shi, Japan Filed May 5, 1958, Ser. No. 733,055 Claims priority, application Japan May 9, 1957 1 Claim. (Cl. 137-185) This invention relates to a steam trap.

Steam traps are extremely important in industrial heat control and are used for various purposes. Accordingly, in utilizing steam traps, it is of importance to select those of the type suitable for the particular purpose.

In general, steam drying devices should meet the following principal requirements. The condensate formed by condensation of steam is large in quantity. Advantageously, a part of steam is bleeded and subsequently separated for reuse in other parts in order to raise the efiiciency in discharging noncondensable gaseous fluid and the drying efficiency of such device. Further, in some cases the pressure of the steam employed may vary over a wide range depending upon the dried state. To be suitable for drying, such devices must not only meet these requirements but also be simple in structure, easy to operate, durable and economical in manufacture.

In these respects, 1 have obtained as a result of various researches a steam trap which is most excellent and suited for use as a steam drying device.

It is an object of the invention to provide a steam trap in whichthe trap valve is closed as a main valve element thereof is raised by the buoyancy of an inverted bucket means located within the trap casing and which is arranged so that gaseous fluid rising through an aperture or apertures provided in a portion of said inverted bucket means can flow out through a clearance between the stem portion of said main valve element and a cylindrical member for guiding said stem portion of said main valve element.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment of the invention. In the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevational view, partly in section, of a steam trap according to the invention; and

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the steam trap shown in Figure 1.

In the embodiment, the buoyancy of a gaseous fluid held in an inverted bucket 2 located in a water chamber 1 is utilized to open and close a valve port 3. The condensate enters the interior of the inverted bucket 2 through a condensate inlet conduit 4, which conduit is closed at the top end thereof and provided the upper portion with a number of circumferentially spaced openings through which the condensate passes, and further flows through the water chamber 1, passages 7 and 8, and the valve port 3 into the valve chamber 9 and thence is discharged through a passage 10 toward a condensate discharging connection 15. Vertical movement of the bucket 2 due to the buoyancy thereof causes a valve element 5 connected by. means of a valve stem portion 5a to the bucket to move thereby to open and close the valve opening 3. At the top of the bucket 2 is provided an aperture or apertures 6 for discharging the ,noncondensable gaseous fluid so that a small amount of aired rates Patent dice steam continually rises through such aperture or apertures and then is discharged to the exterior along with the condensate. During the time when steam is entering the bucket 2, the latter is maintained at a higher level, whereas, if the condensate enters the bucket 2, the buoyancy is reduced so as to lower the bucket together with the valve element 5 thereby to open the valve port 3. The inner diameter of the latter is equal to the diameter of the stem portion of the valve element extending through a cylindrical guiding member 11 so that the actuation of the valve element is not influenced by any change of pressure. Therefore, the valve port can be made very large in size in proportion to the size of the main body. A clearance is provided between valve stem portion 5a and cylindrical guiding member 11 which permits sliding movement of stem portion 5a and leakage of gas therethrough. In the drawing, numeral 12 designates a trap casing and numeral 14 designates a cover therefor, numeral 13 designating a connection for a condensate inlet conduit.

As described hereinbefore, the steam trap according to the present invention is free from any trouble in operation due to pressure change and can have a large discharging capacity for its size. Further, in the steam trap, since a flow of steam at a rate as required in dis charging noncondensable gaseous fluid and in increasing the drying capacity can be conducted to the exterior through the clearance between the stern portion of the valve element and the cylindrical guide even when the valve port is not opened, the frequency of the valve op eration is largely reduced and thus the service life of the valve is noticeably prolonged. In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the steam trap is extremely simple in structure, does not have such parts as liable to cause trouble, and is durable and economical in manufacture. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the steam trap, when used as a drying device or the like, can operate with a very excellent performance and thus is exceedingly effective and useful.

What I claim is:

A steam trap comprising a casing, an inverted bucket member in said casing, said bucket member having a bleeder aperture in the closed end thereof, a steam inlet in said casing opening into said inverted bucket member, and a valved cover on said casing, said cover having a discharging opening therein, a valve seat member on said cover at the inner end of said discharging opening, said valve seat member having a passage therethrough extending from the inner end of said discharging opening and opening out of said valve seat member on the side of the inner end of said discharging opening remote from said casing, said passage having a valve seat therein, a passageway in said cover around the valve seat member into said casing, said valve seat member having an opening therethrough, a valve member within said passage in said valve seat member movable into engagement with said valve seat, and a valve stem connected between said valve member and said inverted bucket member and extending through said opening, the size of said valve stem and said opening being such that a clearance is provided therebetween, said clearance having a small cross sectional area as compared with the cross sectional area of said passage in said valve seat member at said valve seat. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

